Just A Dream : Fall for You

Chapter 18

ONE year later. . .

“Ate!” Simone shouted as soon as she stepped inside the resto-bar their parents owned.

Justine’s parents started a business eights months ago, and they chose resto-bar since her father loves liquor. On the other hand, her mother loves cooking, and most of all, they all love music. 

Six months ago, she finally got discharged from the hospital since she finally fully recovered. In the meantime, she decided to help her parents in their business, even though her mom was against it.

“Ate, kumusta na ang pagri-review mo? Tandaan mo hindi ka pa puwedeng masyadong mapagod.” Paalala ni Simone, sa nakatatandang kapatid.

“Okay naman ang pagri-review ko. Para saan pa at nasa top class ako noong high school, ‘di ba? And don’t worry too much. Kasi hindi ko naman pinababayaan ang sarili ko.” Paniniguro naman ni Justine, sa kapatid habang ipinagpapatuloy niya ang pagri-review. Ang buong atensiyon ay nakatuon sa librong nasa kanyang harapan.

She was taking review classes every day. Whenever her siblings, Keith, Simone, and friend Arlene, had free time, they helped her. They tutored her and helped her narrow down the possible topics that may appear at the entrance exam.  Balak kasi ni Justine, na kumuha na ng college entrance exam para sa susunod school year.

“Ang bilis talaga ng panahon ano, Ate?” Simone mumbled while her gaze was on Justine, as she took a sip of her lemonade.

“Tama ka.” Justine agreed as she put down her pen, and stare outside the window on her left. “Parang kailan lang seventeen years old at high school pa lang ako, pero tingnan mo naman ngayon twenty-three years old na ako.” Umiiling at natatawa pagpapatuloy ni Justine. “And, in a few months I’ll turn twenty-four years old. Sobrang bilis talaga ng panahon.” 

She heaved out a sigh before returning her gaze, and attention back at her reviewers and notes while ‘they’ suddenly popped up in her mind. She can’t help but wondering how they are doing now? And, while thinking about ‘them’ she can’t help but hope, and wished for their happiness. Lihim siyang humihiling na sana ay masaya rin ang mga ito katulad niya. At kung mabibigyan siya ng pagkakataon at kung ipagkakaloob ng tadhana ay gusto niyang muling makita ang mga ito, kahit pa na alam niya sa sarili na hindi pa rin tuluyang naghihilom ang mga sugat ng kahapon sa kaniyang puso at isipan. Maaaring maghilom ang sugat at mawala ang sakit na dulot nito, ngunit mananatiling nakaukit sa kaniyang isipan at alaala ang mga nito.

“Time really flew faster than we think.” Simone commented while she silently watched her sister continue studying.

. . .

Hindi lahat ng nabubuong pagmamahalan, o, love stories ay natatapos sa happily ever after, o, happy ending. Because not all I love you, or, I like you ends up with either happily ever after, or, happy ending. Dahil may mga istorya ng pag-ibig na nagtatapos sa ‘Good bye’, or, ‘Letting go’. May mga relasyon na nauuwi sa hindi inaasahang paghihiwalay ng landas ng minsan ay magkabuklod na puso. Maraming istorya ng pag-ibig ang nauuwi sa ganitong tagpo, ngunit kahit na hindi sila ang para isa’t isa ay naranasan naman nila kung paano mahalin ang bawat isa. Naramdaman nila kung ano ang pakiramdam ng minamahal at kapiling ang bawat isa. Maaaring nagtapos na ang pahina ng kanilang pagmamahalan sa katagang ‘paalam’ ngunit may mga magaganda namang alaala at aral silang naiwan para sa isa’t isa.

May mga tao talaga na dumadaan lamang sa buhay natin upang bigyan tayo ng iba’t ibang leksyon sa buhay. Mga aral na magtuturo sa atin na maging mas malakas at matatag. Ganoon din sa pag-ibig, may mga tao talaga na dumadaan lamang para turuan tayo kung paano magmahal at iparamdam kung ano ang pagmamahal ngunit sa kabilang banda ay tuturuan din tayo kung paano masaktan, magparaya at ang tumayo matapos ang masakit na paghihiwalay ng mga landas.

They’re not high school students anymore, and she’s not a teenager anymore too. Time passes by quickly, and each of them has grown enough into a much more mature adult while they go through their own chosen path that they are now walking through. Many things have happened, obstacles that challenge their strength, and they’ve been through many pain. They even fall apart, but they know that deep inside their hearts that those memories, laughter, and exciting moments they’ve shared are priceless. Someday the right time will come where they will be able to get along just like how they used to be, and maybe better than they used to be.

Letting go and not fighting for someone you love and that someone is the one whom you want to be with doesn’t mean that you are weak. It doesn’t mean that you are afraid, wimpy, a coward, or a wussy person. Because knowing when and accepting how to let go of that person only shows how strong you are. That no matter how much and how hard you may cry you, how many scars you’ve got, how much your heart might get hurt, wounded, and how much it crashed you down. You still choose to endure the pain because it’s the only way to make them happy. Happy without you.

It might be hard to forget someone from the past, especially when that person has been the one you wanted to be with you in your future. Even though that someone already has their future without you.

Justine learned that letting go of the one you love is not bad because it can set you free from pain. Letting go doesn’t mean you are weak because letting go of someone needs a lot of strength and extreme courage. It was hard and painful to let go, and it was like crushing your own heart with your own hands as if you were stomping on it over and over again with your own two feet. But then, we all need to let go and move on so that we can start anew. 

While we walk towards our chosen path, challenges will go on our way to test us and make us better people. A much better person than what we think we can be. Many things go into different changes, and as time goes by, we will slowly learn a lot of things and lessons that life has to bring. We face various problems, stumble, and fall that might be too much and hard for us to handle. But we can still manage to stand up and get over it no matter how many times we think of giving up along the way. We might think that we are unfortunate, get tired of it, or question ourselves why problems keep on approaching us. But, if we look at the other side of it from a different angle, we will learn lots of new lessons from it. We can be more robust and better people than we were before, and it can be our stepping stone to achieve our goals for a better future we hoped for. 

We might not be able to fix every broken piece in a relationship. However, slowly, by carefully putting each piece together, we can fix it, although it’s not the same as before. And we might get hurt, but, eventually, our wounds will heal, and we will be free from pain because that’s how life is. 

And now, Justine is walking on her own chosen path to create and make her dreams come true. Ngayon ay muling mag-uumpisa ang panibagong yugto ng buhay niya. It wasn’t the end yet. But, a new beginning of her new journey and new chapters awaited her.